


The Curious Incident of Alexander in the Bookstore

by foursetsofcorsets



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-04-30 14:53:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5167985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foursetsofcorsets/pseuds/foursetsofcorsets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The "My asshole ex found me in the bookstore and you’re closest so you’re now dating me" AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second lams fic, woohoo!! :DD I'm actually really happy with how this turned out, it's by far the longest thing I've ever written, y creo que me salió bien. Enjoy!

It was a brisk day in September when John Laurens found himself humming contentedly as he pulled open the door to the local bookstore. The store wasn’t anything fancy, just a lovely little place with a coffee shop connected to it that he had discovered within his first few weeks of living in the area. He hadn’t lived there for very long, but John quickly became a regular at the tiny bookshop/coffeehouse, and acquainted himself well with the barista and owner Eliza. John learned that Eliza had two sisters, Angelica and Peggy, but Angelica was studying out of state and Peggy was somewhere out in the wide world as a freelance photographer. On rainy days, he would spend his hours talking with her over mugs of hot chocolate topped off with whipped cream until his university assignments demanded his attention, but Eliza loved to see him whenever he stopped by regardless. Today, however, John came in looking for a book to help him relax over the weekend before his parents visited the following week. Not that John minded his parents, he loved them to pieces, but he knew how overwhelmed he would be by the end of their visit. John waved at Eliza as he walked inside, shrugging his jacket off and setting it on one of the comfy chairs by the coffee bar.

 

    “Hey, Betsy, how’ve you been?” he asked warmly, leaning across the counter to give her a brief kiss on the cheek. Eliza beamed.

 

    “Pretty good, and yourself?”

 

    “Fantastic as ever, especially now that I get to see your lovely face.” She threw her head back in laughter.

 

    “You sure know how to charm a girl. Can I getcha anything?”

 

    “Nah,” John shook his head. “Just lookin’ for a book today. Got any recommendations?” Eliza crinkled her nose in thought.

 

    “Not off the top of my head. What kind of book are you looking for?”

 

    “Just something short for the weekend, I wanna blow off some steam before Monday rolls around.”

 

    “Oh, that’s right, your parents are flying in Monday! Are you excited?” Eliza’s eyes lit up. She had a kind of closeness with her family that John had never had, but it was sweet to see her get excited. He cracked a smile.

 

    “I think a better word might be apprehensive.” Eliza’s brow furrowed before she reached across and gave John a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, along with her brightest smile.

 

    “I’m sure everything will be fine. I can’t think of any books for you right now, but you’re welcome to have a look around.”

 

    “Thanks, Liza.” The two shared another smile before John turned around and shifted his attention to perusing bookshelves. _Fantasy might be a nice place to start,_ John thought to himself. He looked at the titles one by one, ignoring the ones he had already read and skimming the descriptions of the ones that piqued his interest, but nothing stood out. He was so focused on reading the spines in the long row of books that he stopped looking where he was going and tripped over something heavy on the ground next to him. John caught himself on the bookshelf just before falling over, but whatever he tripped over wasn’t quite as fortunate. John turned his head to see a young man about his age, if not a bit younger, sitting with his ass flat on one of the cozy rugs Eliza had placed on the floor between each of the bookshelves. He had long, dark hair that was in a low ponytail and a thin, worn-out hoodie that didn’t look like it offered very much protection from the autumn chill outside. John regained his balance and held his hand out to the boy next to him.

 

“You okay there? Sorry for tripping over you,” he said somewhat sheepishly. The young man took his hand and pulled himself up, rubbing the part of his butt that had hit the floor.

 

“I’m alright, no worries.” The boy flashed a grin and held out his own hand for a handshake. “Alexander Hamilton.”

 

“John Laurens.” John returned the grin and the handshake, noticing that Alexander’s hand felt warm against his palm, if only slightly damp from sweat.

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, John. What are you looking for?” Alexander enquired politely.

 

“Just a light read for the weekend, nothing exciting. How about you?”

 

“The lovely barista over there-- Eliza, I believe-- was telling me about a play she saw recently, something about a dog getting murdered, and she said the book was worth reading, so I’m looking for that.”

 

John couldn’t help a small grin. Eliza was such a nerd. “Was she talking about _The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime_?” Alexander nodded.

 

“I believe so,” he answered. “But I haven’t seen it anywhere.” John’s grin widened.

 

“I think you’re looking in the wrong place, my friend. You’re not gonna find _Curious Incident_ in the Fantasy section.” Alexander’s head whipped up to the sign over the bookshelf and squinted his eyes in way that looked almost painful.

 

“Shit,” he murmured. “Is that what that says?” Alexander groaned and rubbed his eyes. “My glasses broke the other day and I’m completely helpless without them.”

 

John chuckled. Alexander was endearing, he decided. “I can help you look for it if you want, I’m not having very much luck finding a book myself.” Alexander looked up at him gratefully.

 

“I’d really appreciate that.”

 

He followed John down a few aisles of bookshelves before they stopped in the middle of one and John crouched, murmuring author names quietly to himself until he found a paperback with a bright blue cover.

 

“Here you are,” John announced as he pulled the book out and stood up straight, handing it to the other young man, who grinned.

 

“Thanks, John. You didn’t have to.” But as John opened his mouth to reply, Alexander’s   and his eyes squinted and his gaze shifted to something behind John’s shoulder before his face crumpled.

 

“Alexander-?” He was quickly shushed and ushered behind a bookshelf so that they were both obscured from the view of the door. “What are you doing?”

 

“My ex-boyfriend just walked in and, like... this is the last place I want to see him, especially alone. This might sound crazy but could you do me a gigantic favor?”

 

John was still confused, but he nodded, not breaking eye contact with the nervous-looking boy in front of him. Alexander took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

 

“Could you pretend to be dating me, just until he leaves? It would mean so much.”

 

John’s knee jerk reaction was to say no, no way, why would he be comfortable with this? But the look in Alexander’s eyes made him think twice. There wasn’t really any harm in playing along, was there? And it would only be for a few minutes…

 

“Okay,” John answered hesitantly. Alexander sighed in relief.

 

“Oh, thank god. You are an angel, Laurens. We don’t have to do anything crazy, maybe you could just hold my hand, and I might kiss your cheek or something, if that’s okay with you?”

 

“Um, yeah. Sure.” John was in way over his head. He had never been in a relationship before (something he promised himself he would do once he got to college, but so far, no dice) and he was way out of his depth, so he let this young man he met hardly ten minutes ago lead the way. Alexander grinned.

 

“Great. I owe you one,” he whispered as he took hold of John’s hand and led him back to the Fantasy section. John let Alexander intertwine their fingers and fought the color rising to his cheeks. They stood looking at books for about half a minute before Alexander squeezed John’s hand gently as someone else walked into the aisle. The shorter man’s demeanor immediately changed. Suddenly he was clinging to John’s arm, whispering things like “I can’t believe you still haven’t read Harry Potter, John” (false), “We could read it together if you want, I don’t mind rereading it” (something John decided he wouldn’t mind either), and “Do you wanna grab some coffee before we head back to my dorm?” (something that made John’s head spin just thinking about).

 

John was trying to be a good fake boyfriend, he really was, but he could feel himself being overly stiff and awkward. So he took a deep breath and tried to relax, leaning into Alexander’s touch and responding with an easy “Yeah, that sounds nice, babe.” Another gentle squeeze of the hand from Alexander told him that that was the perfect thing to do. The other person in the aisle, however, a tall young man who looked a couple years older than John and had wilder hair, was visibly uneasy the entire time, and his eyes narrowed when he heard John refer to Alexander as “babe”. He coughed and stepped closer to the pair, not tearing his eyes away from the bookshelf.

 

“Alex Hamilton.”

 

“Alexander,” the boy holding John’s hand swiftly and cheerfully corrected. “You lost that privilege, Thomas Jefferson.” The taller man grunted. “So what brings you here?” he pressed. It became very clear to John at that moment that Alexander intended on shoving as much shit as he could into Jefferson’s face now that he had the opportunity.

 

“I’m looking for a book, same as you,” Thomas replied grudgingly. It was evident that this was not a conversation he wanted to be having.

 

“You know, it’s funny you phrase it that way, Thomas, because I’m not actually here looking for a book. I happen to be on a date,” Alexander dug, with the most delightful tone of voice he had ever used in his life, before turning his head and beaming sweetly up at John. John swallowed thickly and felt his face heat up. He knew it was fake, he knew it, but he’d be damned if anyone had ever looked at him like that before. The only thought he allowed himself was, _The kid’s a natural actor, I’ll give him that_. Instead of standing there like a stone-faced idiot, though, John settled for smiling back at Alexander, wondering if kissing him on the forehead would earn him any brownie points, until the shorter boy went on his tiptoes and pressed a gentle kiss to John’s cheek. John turned his head away discretely, hoping to hide his increasingly red face, when he caught sight of Eliza with her elbows resting on the counter and her chin in her hands. She wore the most mischievous grin John had ever seen as she watched the whole ordeal play out. His expression of embarrassment quickly turned into one of horror as he desperately tried to communicate with his eyes, _Elizabeth Catherine Schuyler, I swear to God, when I get out of this I will murder you with my bare hands,_ but his attempts were lost on Eliza as she hid a snicker behind her hand. John’s attention was pulled back to the task in front of him, though, when Alexander’s ex-boyfriend spoke up.

 

“A date, hm?” said Thomas, sounding a little strained.

 

“Mhm,” Alexander nodded as he leaned his head on John’s shoulder and began tracing patterns on his bicep with his finger. An enraged glance from Thomas told John that Alexander had made a habit of this when the two were still together, and he tried not to snort with laughter. Instead, John put on a smile and looked at Alexander as lovingly as he could. If the goal was to piss Jefferson off as much as possible, why not have a little fun with it? He even went to the extent of rubbing Alexander’s hand back and forth with the pad of his thumb, which made the shorter man blush unexpectedly.

 

“What about you, Thomas, are you seeing anyone?” Alexander put forth casually, but the question was laced with venom. _He’s vile,_ John thought in amusement. Thomas cleared his throat.

 

“Ah, no. No, I am not.”

 

The response caused Alexander to bury his face in John’s shoulder briefly to hide his grin, but when he turned back to Thomas, he simply offered an unsympathetic “Oh, pity.”

 

At that point, Thomas Jefferson looked thoroughly ruffled. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and shoved past the two of them, managing to bite out, “See you around, Hamilton.”

 

Alexander smiled and called out, “Bye, Jefferson!” before turning back to John and touching his cheek, asking, “Now, what were you saying, sweetheart?” just loud enough for Thomas to hear before the door shut behind him. When he was finally out of sight, Alexander’s face split into a grin and he pulled away from John, doing a little victory dance.

 

“That was perfect! _You_ were perfect! Did you see how uncomfortable he was? It was _hilarious_. He’s still insanely attracted to me, it’s going to drive him crazy! That was the absolute best. Thank you so much, John, I could never thank you enough, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Alexander’s mouth was going a mile a minute due to his excitement, and he punctuated his thank you to John with a swift kiss on the lips before pulling away in shock.

 

“Ah, shit, sorry,” Alexander laughed nervously. “Guess I got caught up in the moment there,” he said sheepishly, avoiding eye contact. John was stunned.

 

“No, yeah, it- it’s fine, I did, too,” he eventually responded. He didn’t bother mentioning that that had been his first kiss. John touched two fingers to his lips briefly before smiling at Alexander. “So are you headed to your dorm now?”

 

Alexander’s shoulders slumped. “I guess so…” He went to turn away, but looked hesitant.

 

John took advantage of his reluctance to ask what they both wanted to ask: “Unless you wanted to, I dunno, get some coffee or something?”

 

Alexander grinned. “That would be amazing.”

 

Eliza, who had been watching intently, decided at that moment to call out, “Did someone say coffee?”

 

John whipped around and glared at her. “Elizabeth Schuyler, you are the most despicable, eavesdropping, literature-reading, bookstore-managing barista I have ever had the misfortune of meeting.” Eliza grinned.

 

“Oh, John, you flatter me. Coffee’s on the house,” she added, with a wink to Alexander.

 

“You’re too kind,” Alexander responded with a grin of his own.

 

They ended up staying at the shop for another two hours, discussing anything and everything from Harry Potter theories to oddly-acquired childhood injuries, until Alexander had to get back to his dorm and Eliza had to close up. Alexander ended up giving them both his number, though, before letting John stay behind to help Eliza.

 

“So,” she began with a cheeky grin.

 

“Don’t even start.”

 

“He was all over you, how am I supposed to not start?!”

 

“He was putting up an act for his ex-boyfriend, Liza, it’s different.”

 

“I dunno,” she mused. “If I had an Alexander Hamilton hanging from my arm I certainly wouldn’t let him go.”

 

John rolled his eyes. “You want me to walk you home? It’s getting pretty dark out there.”

 

“I would appreciate that, thank you,” Eliza said sincerely as she shrugged her coat on and grabbed her bag and keys. The pair walked out the door and Eliza locked up behind them, letting John put an arm around her shoulders and leaning into him for extra warmth as they began the walk to Eliza’s apartment. John kissed her cheek in farewell and made sure she was safely inside before turning around and starting the walk back to campus, contemplating the events of the day and those of the week to come-

  
_Shit! I forgot to get a book!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Platonic Eliza and John is important to me ok. Anywho. I'm almost positive this will have a second chapter, but I don't know about a third. We'll see about that when I get the second one written. Thanks for reading !! Let me know what you think in the comments :DD  
> PS- Eliza didn't have a middle name, I checked, but her momma's name was Catherine so that's what I used :P


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> texting, more fake dating, and eliza being a (literal) angel, what did you really expect from me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh ok so I had to re upload this cuz the texting format was like... harshing my mellow. anywho. I decided to split what was originally going to be one chapter into two chapters, so this one is shorter that the first one. enjoy !!

“I can’t wait to see you, too, Mom,”  John said with a smile over his cellphone.

 

“And you remember when and where to pick us up from the airport, right?” Mrs. Laurens asked. John sighed and shook his head.

 

“Yes, of course I remember. I’m not gonna let you and dad get lost in the middle of an airport in New York City.” He barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes; moms could probably hear that sort of thing over the phone.

 

“Alright then, enough business, tell me about New York. What have you been up to in the big city? Are you seeing anyone?”

 

“Mom…”

 

“What? I need to know in advance or I won’t have enough stories about you ready.”

 

“Mom, if I was seeing someone, which I’m _not_ , by the way, the absolute last thing I would do would be allow you to regale my significant other with exaggerated tales about tiny John Laurens.”

 

“I don’t need your permission to embarrass you in front of your boyfriend, John, it’s my divine right as the woman who raised you. What’s he like?”

 

“What’s who like?”  


“Your boyfriend.”

 

“Mom! I just said I’m not seeing anyone!” John spluttered.

 

“Alright, whatever you say, dear, but I expect to meet him when we get there. Love you!” John’s jaw dropped as his mother hung the phone up on him.

 

Shit.

 

His first thought was to text Eliza.

 

  * _help_



_my parents want to meet my boyfriend_

  * _???_



_You don’t have a boyfriend?_

  * _that’s the problem_



  * _:o_



_Are you friends with any of the guys in your apartment complex?_

  * _not since i accidentally flirted with that burr guy’s gf_



  * _Yikes._



_What about Alexander? Doesn’t he ‘owe you one’?_

  * _yeah..._



_but he could be busy or something_

_and i may need to cash that favor in later for like_

_a coffee or smth_

_liza?_

  * _I just texted him, he wants to know if you need a live-in boyfriend and whether or not he’s allowed to poop at your apartment._



  * _srsly eliza wtf_



_uncalled for_

_tell him the couch is open if he brings a couple extra blankets_

_and yes he’s allowed to poop at my apartment_

_thank you_

  * _You’re welcome. :)_



 

    John smiled at his phone. Eliza was probably his own personal guardian angel sent down from heaven to save him from situations like this. He lost himself for a moment imagining what it would be like if she wore a toga and stood on his shoulder all day encouraging him to make good decisions, but was eventually torn from the reverie by another text message, this time from Alexander.

 

  * _hey nene :*_



_what time should I be over?_

  * _do you send the kissy face to all your fake boyfriends or am i special_



_mom and dad fly in at 9:15 tomorrow night_

_if u get here at 6 i’ll buy u dinner and we can figure out the details of… us_

  * _us? ;))_



  * _ur not cute_



  * _I disagree, you’re dating me_



  * _ugH_



       

    John smiled again and locked his phone before getting ready for bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

 

***

 

    John sat on his couch, nervously awaiting Alexander’s arrival. He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and sunk further into the cushions, breathing deeply with the realisation that these would be his last moments of blessed solitude until his parents left on Friday. Even so, a smile graced John’s freckled features when he heard a loud knock at the door. He got up from the couch and swung the front door open to find Alexander gripping the handle of a small suitcase.

 

    “Hey.”

 

    “No hello kiss?” Alexander teased as he walked in. John rolled his eyes.

 

    “You can set your stuff here in the living room, by the couch is fine.”

    “Won’t your parents be suspicious of a suitcase if I’m supposed to be living here with you?”

 

    “We’ll say you can’t officially move in yet. The administration won’t let you go off-campus til the semester ends, something like that.” Alexander nodded. “Do you know what you want to eat? We can get take-out, or I could cook…” Alexander’s eyes gleamed.

 

    “You cook?” John shrugged.

 

    “Grilled cheese?” Alexander laughed out loud.

 

    “Grilled cheese sounds good. Want me to help?”

 

    “Nah, I got it.”

 

    “You sure?”

 

    “Yeah, no worries.”

 

    Alexander followed John into his tiny kitchen and watched as he pulled out a skillet and the loaf of bread from the top cupboard and a spatula from the drawer before turning the stove on and grabbing cheese and butter from the fridge. They sat in a comfortable silence while John cooked until Alexander piped up.

 

    “So what’s allowed, like, PDA-wise?”

 

    “Um… Everything we did last time, I guess.” Alexander lifted himself onto the counter and started swinging his legs.

 

    “Okay. We might have to do a little more than that to convince your parents, though. They’ll be here for a week, right?” John swallowed and nodded.

 

    “What exactly do you mean by ‘more’?” Alexander tilted his head to one side.

 

    “Kissing, I guess, but I’m sure we can skirt our way around that one if you’ve got a real problem with it-”

 

    “Kissing is fine,” John said, a little too quickly. His face was very warm, but he put it on the heat coming from the stove. Alexander smirked.

 

    “Are you sure?” John nodded silently. Alexander only smiled and leaned his weight back on his hands.

 

    “Mmkay. We’ll probably have to cuddle a lot too, and little touches here and there. But it won’t look right if I’m the only one initiating it,” he pointed out. John nodded again in understanding. Cuddling and little touches he could definitely do. As he put the last sandwich on a plate and handed it to Alexander, he let their fingers brush for just a moment, almost as if to prove it. Alexander smiled and it went all the way to his eyes.

 

    “There you go. And thanks for dinner.” John shrugged and smiled, taking his own plate out to eat in the living room. He was followed closely by Alexander, who asked, “Where and when did we meet, and how long have we been dating?”

 

    “Eliza’s place, first week of classes, and ever since you bought me hot chocolate that Friday night.” Alexander nodded and took a bite of his sandwich.

 

    “Remind me to buy you hot chocolate when this is over,” he said with his mouth full. John grinned and tucked in to his own sandwich.

 

    They ended up snuggled together on the couch watching Scrubs until 8, at which point John reluctantly pulled away from Alexander’s warmth to pull his shoes on and grab his keys.

 

    “I’m gonna go pick mom and dad up, do you think you could do dishes while I’m gone?”

 

    “You don’t want me to come with you?”

 

    “Nah, I think I want to put off the parents-meet-boyfriend scene for a little bit.” John gave him a small smile and Alexander returned it.

 

    “No problem, I’ll make sure the kitchen’s clean before you get back.” John’s eyes met Alexander’s, and he hesitated before leaning down and pressing a kiss to his forehead. When he pulled away, Alexander was beaming up at him.

 

    “Go, you’re gonna be late.” John smiled and left the apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally had to google how to make grilled cheese to write this chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMAO BITCH YOU THOUGHT IT WAS DEAD

Alexander paused the episode of Scrubs and turned his head when he heard John’s keys in the door. He grinned and stood up when John opened the door and walked in carrying two suitcases, followed by his mother and father.

 

“John, sweetie, we could have carried those if you needed us to.”

 

“Don’t worry about it, Mom, I got it.” He quickly deposited the suitcases in his bedroom and came back out to the living room with a breathless smile on his face. John’s eyes flicked over to Alexander, who had gotten up and turned the TV off and was standing by the arm of the couch waiting to be introduced. John swallowed and turned to his parents.

 

“Mom, Dad, this is Alexander, my, uh, my boyfriend.” Alexander beamed and held his hand out to John’s father, who shook it firmly, and then to John’s mother, who let Alexander kiss the back of her hand briefly.

 

“Just Alex is fine, that’s what I keep telling John, but I guess he’s made a habit out of calling me Alexander.” John’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.  _ Didn’t he tell Jefferson just the other day that ‘Alex’ was a privilege? _ He composed himself and watched the exchange between Alexander and his parents unfold.

 

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Alex,” John’s mother replied.

 

“The pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Laurens,” Alexander offers in response, ever the gentleman.

 

“Oh, please, Ellie is fine. And this is my husband, Henry.” Alexander nods at the taller man.

 

“Nice to meet you, sir.” Henry Laurens returns the nod, but doesn’t say anything else.

 

“Can I get you guys water or anything, Mom? Dad?”

 

“A glass of water is fine, thank you, John,” Ellie responds as she slips her shoes off by the door and takes a seat on the couch. Henry joins her, declining John’s offer. John nods and crosses the short distance to the kitchen, followed by Alexander, who slides a hand around his waist when John reaches up to get a glass from the cabinet.

 

“You doing okay?” Alex asks in a low voice.

 

“Course. You?” John fills the glass with water from the dispenser in the refrigerator. Alex nods and leans up to peck John on the lips. Thankfully, the glass of water is on the counter already, because John isn’t sure he wouldn’t have dropped it in surprise had he been holding it. His face heats up and he feels their close proximity more acutely; Alexander’s arm is around his waist and his hand is resting on the small of his back, holding him close. They are facing each other, instead of standing side by side like before. John is staring into Alexander’s eyes with what must be an award-winning deer-in-the-headlights expression, but he snaps out of it when Alex raises his eyebrows and smirks.

 

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

 

John swallows and tries to force the blush from his cheeks.

 

“Definitely. Come on, they’re waiting out there,” Alexander gestures in the direction of the living room and walks out of the kitchen, John following behind with the glass of water in hand. John gives his mother the water and settles on the couch next to Alexander. They talk for a long time, with Ellie asking about the details of how Alex and John met, and their living situation, just general things that they had discussed previously. Mrs. Laurens seems incredibly charmed by Alexander, which John is grateful for, until she asks,

 

“So have you talked about marriage yet?”

 

John chokes on air, horrified.

 

“Mom!”

 

But Alexander, perfect Alexander, doesn’t miss a beat. He laughs shyly and ducks his head.

 

“I’ve thought about bringing it up a few times, but I didn’t want to scare John away.”

 

And just as John would expect, his mother is pulled in even further. She’ll be on his ass about engagement before the end of the night, no doubt.  _ Alexander really is the perfect boyfriend _ , John thinks bitterly.

 

“You know, Alex, you may be in luck. John used to always say he wanted to marry the first person he ever dated when he was younger.”

 

At this Alexander glanced briefly at John before gushing about how adorable John must’ve been when he was younger and taking his fake boyfriend’s hand in his own, intertwining their fingers.

 

God, of  _ course  _ she would bring up that he’s never dated anyone before.

 

Ellie and Alexander have managed to scoot closer to each other, Mrs. Laurens enthralled as Alexander enthusiastically explains that it would be his dream come true to adopt a little girl and little boy from Puerto Rico, and raise them with three different languages (English, Spanish, and French) here in the States. He wants to work in the government, help make the country a better place for  _ people like him _ , which is extremely vague and makes John wince as his gaze flicks over to his father. Henry Laurens is extremely racist and homophobic at the best of times, and John really does not want his parents meeting his boyfriend to end in a yelling match over conflicting political ideals, or rather, his father being a complete and utter asshole, and he’s exhausted anyway, so he opens his mouth before Henry has a chance to think about speaking.

 

“Mom, it’s getting pretty late and Alex and I have class in the morning tomorrow, do you and Dad wanna go ahead and turn in for the night?”

 

It’s not really a question, and with one glance Ellie can tell that her son, who is a lot like her in a lot of ways, introvertedness included, is drained.

 

“Of course. Goodnight, Alex,” she smiles and stands up to drop a kiss on John’s forehead. “Goodnight, pumpkin.”

 

“Night, Mom. Dad,” John watches them disappear into his bedroom and close the door and he lets out an involuntary sigh of relief.

 

“John,” Alexander says in a small voice.

 

“Yeah?” John acknowledges him, his own voice just as quiet.

 

“I lied to your mother.”

 

John snorts.

 

“So did I.”

 

“No, I mean,” Alexander shifts on the couch and John looks over at him. “I told her I want two kids, but that’s not true. I want three.”

 

This time John actually laughs, bright and genuine. Alexander grins, delighted that his joke had a good effect on his counterpart. As their laughter fades into breathless giggles, John opens his mouth to speak.

 

“Hey, um… I know it’s none of my business, but… What happened between you and Jefferson?”

 

John watches as Alexander’s eyes, so full of warmth just a moment ago, harden and look away. Alexander runs a hand through his hair and sighs audibly, shifting his position so he can face John on the couch.

 

“He cheated on me. And I decided I deserved better than that.”

 

John goes to respond, but Alexander opens his mouth first.

 

“I know what you’re going to say, that I should’ve given him another chance, that everyone messes up, all that. And I did. I gave him so many chances. But it didn’t stop. There was always a rumor going around about Thomas hooking up with someone or other at the party I wasn’t at, whatever. And he owned up to it. He always apologised and told me he still loved me, and I believed it. I still believe it. But, like… sometimes that’s not enough, you know? I think what it boils down to is that he didn’t respect me. He didn’t respect me enough to stay faithful, so I broke it off.”

 

John is speechless when Alex finishes. The first thing that comes to mind is:

 

J efferson is really  _really_ shitty.

 

But he can’t say that, that’s not comforting at all and would probably make Alexander feel worse.

 

“I’m really sorry,” John tries instead. “You do deserve better, and I’m sorry that you had to put up with that.”

 

Alexander shrugs, but his eyes are smiling when he says, “Thank you, John.”

 

John stifles a yawn. “Ready for bed?” Alexander nods, covering his own mouth with a hand as he yawns.

 

“Wait, where are you gonna sleep?” John’s brow furrows.

 

“Out here on the floor,” he answers, as if it was obvious. Alex raises an eyebrow.

 

“Oh, hell no, Mister Laurens. Take the couch.” John splutters.

 

“What?! No, you’re the guest, you take the couch!” Alex smirks (he  _ smirks _ , what an asshole) at John.

 

“You haven’t known me very long so I don’t think you have an idea of how stubborn I can be.”

 

John glares at Alexander’s pretty, brown,  _ laughing _ eyes and knows he won’t win this battle.

 

“Fine. We’ll share.” Alexander’s fucking smirk widens.

 

“Only if I get to be on top,” he winks. John rolls his eyes, but Alex is right; the couch is only wide enough for one person, so one of them will have to lay on top of the other for them both to fit. Oh, the things John Laurens does for his pride.

  
“Just hurry up and get ready for bed, Hamilton.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK SO FIRST OF ALL I am so so sorry this took literal centuries to update. I've been in the middle of a buttload of changes in life as well as a lot of insecurities about myself and my writing, so that made this a bit difficult to get through, but it's here!!!!! Feel free to organize a mob and chase after me with pitchforks, I completely understand. ALSO, I don't have any kind of real plan for this story, where it goes, or how it ends, and am very open to suggestions and requests!!!! If there's anything specifically you guys would like to see, be it cute fluffy scenelets, obscure references, character cameos, or any of your own headcanons I would love to hear them and do my best to incorporate them into this story!!! I also promise to be like one thousand times quicker in updating next time T_T Thank you so much for reading, so much love for you all!!! <3 <3 <3


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